The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
A continuously variable transmission (“CVT”) typically includes gearing that operatively couples a variator between a rotary power source, such as an engine or electric motor, and a final drive unit. The variator includes a rotary input disk and a rotary output disk which are able to steplessly or continuously vary the ratio of an input speed to an output speed (the “variator ratio”). The overall speed ratio provided by the CVT is a function of the variator ratio and the associated gearing. The output disc includes integrally formed gear teeth that are in mesh with and drive a corresponding gear. The gear in turn is functionally coupled to an output shaft or layshaft that is functionally coupled to the final drive unit. A typical CVT that has a toroidal variator and a torque converter is assembled into the transmission case from a direction that is perpendicular to the centerline of the variator through an opening in the transmission case. Accordingly, in order to fit the variator through the opening in the transmission case, the input shaft that connects to the torque converter is a separate component that is coupled with the variator shaft after insertion of the variator in the transmission case. Using separate components increases complexity, costs, and axial length of the assembled transmission. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a variator assembly that provides improved performance with respect to complexity of variator components and packaging.